Conflicting Sources

Sarah Shelly Obit

Last week I waited impatiently for the release of Pennsylvania death certificates on Ancestry.com. This week, I am pondering a discrepancy between one of those death certificates and a marriage license as to who is Sarah Ann Shelly's parents. The first clue I found was Sarah's obituary which names her parents as Abram & Hannah Shelley. While obituaries can provide wonderful clues they can also be filled with erroneous details and family tales. My search then took me to investigating her marriages. The wonderful History of the Woodcock Family from 1692 to September 1, 1912 which has a family tree from my grandpa Clinton Burket back thru Patriot ancestor Bancroft Woodcock, beginning with my immigrant ancestors Rachel Bancroft and Robert Woodcock has given me many leads. Unfortunately the information on Sarah is of limited help. It states Milton Woodcock married Sarah A. Shelley 9 Aug 1865, but does not name her parents. 

After Milton’s death, Sarah remarried in 1886 to Isaac Steele. Here on their marriage application, Sarah’s parents are Jacob & Anna Shelly. Only husband to be Isaac provided the information to the clerk, so did he know his wife’s parents? 

Isaac Steele and Sarah Shelly Woodcock Marriage License

Fast forwarding to last week, I found her death certificate on Ancestry.com. The family information was filled out her son-in-law David Burket whom she was living with at the time of her death. He declared Sarah’s parents were Abraham Shelley and Hannah Brown. So who really was Sarah’s parents and where should I search from here? 

Sarah's Death Certificate

8 Nov 1837 – born to _____________; parent info conflicting

9 Aug 1865 – married Milton Woodcock; Source: History of the Woodcock family pg 34; no parents mentioned

3 Apr 1867 – daughter Elizabeth Catherine born

1 Jul 1868 – daughter Virginia born

4 Jul 1870 – son John born

1870 census – 32, living with Milton and 3 children in Holmesville, Ohio

12 Dec 1871 – son William born

6 Feb 1872 – son William died

2 Jul 1873 – daughter Susan born

10 Feb 1875 – husband Milton Woodcock died; Source: will names Sarah as wife; Sarah’s obit

1880 census – 43, widow, 4 of her children living with her; sharing property with Hannah Shelly in Hopewell, PA

1886 – Married Isaac Steele Source: marriage license; parents listed as Jacob & Anna Shelly

1900 census – 65, married, living with daughter and son-in-law (Mock), not husband

24 Sep 1904 – husband Isaac Steele died; Source: findagrave.com

1910 census – 69, widow, living with daughter and son-in-law (Mock)

1920 census – 84, widow, living with daughter and son-in-law (Burket)

19 Aug 1921 – died at home of daughter and son-in-law (Burket) Source: obit & death cert; obit lists parents listed as Abram & Hannah Shelly; info provided by son-in-law (Burket) parents Abraham Shelley and Hannah Brown

Obits aren’t Free Anymore

One of the bizarre, but interesting and useful bits of information I picked up during the process of my mother’s passing is regarding obituaries. While once considered news, in the tightening financial crunch newspapers have been facing for many years, obituaries are now considered classified ads. As such, the length of the record of your loved ones passing is counted by word and charged accordingly. Since it is now considered an ad, the rates fluctuate wildly region to region as well as the size and scope of the publication. 


We live in suburbia, our town’s weekly paper charges a couple hundred while the local daily rates are just under $400. The wider the reaching papers such as our state wide paper not only charges for the print ad, but an additional fee to publish it online as well. One story I recently heard was that the obituary in the New York Times for a stockbroker cost $12,000. That was more than the cost of his cremation and memorial combined. Obviously, obituary costs are now something you seriously need to consider when planning your loved ones final arrangements.

I want to thank my BFF Cathy McGuckin for helping our family write mom’s obit. For the record (and one that is still free), this is my mom’s obituary:

MT. ARLINGTON, NJ—Joyce D. Armstrong died on Friday, November 27, 2009, at Morristown Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. She was 77.

Born in Wilkensburg, PA, to the late Clinton and Mary (Ritts) Burket on October 23, 1932, she was a 34-year resident of Mendham until moving to Mt. Arlington in June, 2006.

Joyce graduated then worked at the Business Training College in Pittsburgh, PA, where she met her husband Joseph Armstrong. Joyce and Joe married on June 6, 1955, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. She would fondly remember their ‘two-year honeymoon’ in Hawaii, while Joe served with the U.S. Marine Corps. Prior to their honeymoon, Joyce enjoyed working for Radio personality Mark Evans in Washington, DC.

Joyce was a member of the Newcomers’ Group of Mendham for more than 20 years and enjoyed playing in the bridge club. She also enjoyed traveling and the Naval Academy. Joyce will be remembered by friends and neighbors for her deep love of her family, her beautiful Mendham home—especially her porch swing, her Christmas Eve and Army-Navy Game parties, and her kindness.

She was predeceased by her brother Clinton (1993) and her sister Maybelle Gillespie (1992). Survivors include her husband of 54 years Joseph, her daughter Kimberly of Succasunna, her son Scott of Wilmington, NC, and her beloved grandson Colin of Rockaway.

A memorial service to celebrate Joyce’s life will be held at the Bailey Funeral Home on Saturday, December 12, 2009, at 1:00 PM. A reception will be held at the Elks Club in Gladstone. Entombment will take place at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made in Joyce’s name to Cancer Center for Education and Patient Support Fund, Morristown Memorial Health Foundation, PO Box 1956, Morristown, N.J. 07962.

Arrangements are by the Bailey Funeral Home, 8 Hilltop Road, Mendham, NJ, 07945—(973)543-4720, www.baileyfuneralhomes.com.